Adjustable deck lid hinge assemblies for raising and lowering a deck lid relative to a deck lid opening in a vehicle are known. A first example is described in Saville, U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,333. A hinge strap, affixed to a deck lid, is pivotally attached to a pivot plate. The pivot plate, in turn, is threadedly engaged with a threaded nut mounted relative to a backshelf of a vehicle. By rotating the threaded nut, the pivot plate and hinge strap are axially or vertically linearly translated relative to the backshelf. Accordingly, the forward portion of a deck lid mounted by a pair of such hinge straps and hinge assemblies can be vertically adjusted to flushly mate with the surrounding surface of the vehicle body.
Another example of an adjustable deck lid hinge assembly which provides for linear translation of a hinge strap relative to a backshelf is found in Skonieczny et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,863. An eye bolt is mounted relative to a hinge box affixed to the backshelf of a vehicle. By rotating a nut on the eye bolt, the eye of the eye bolt is linearly translated along the longitudinal axis of the bolt. A pivot pin mounting a hinge strap to the eye bolt passes through the eye of the eye bolt perpendicular to the eye bolt's longitudinal axis. The hinge strap and attached deck lid are raised and lowered as the nut on the eye bolt is rotated providing for the adjustment of the deck lid relative to the deck lid opening in the vehicle.
Moving the pivot axis defined by a pair of hinge assemblies only in a vertical plane has undesirable consequences. The hinge straps and deck lid act as a link extending between the pivot axis and a latch located in the rear of the vehicle. The latch is usually disposed substantially below the height of the pivot axis. The distance is fixed between mounting apertures on the hinge straps which are coaxial with the pivot axis and a latch mechanism on the deck lid. Consequently, when the hinge assemblies' pivot axis and the hinge straps are adjusted in a vertical plane, the latch mechanism at the rear of the deck lid moves fore and aft. This fore and aft movement of the rear of deck lid makes alignment of the deck lid relative to the deck lid opening and vehicle body difficult.